# Chua Vietnam

Chua Vietnam (Vietnamese: Chùa Việt Nam / 厨越南) is a Vietnamese Buddhist temple in Aikawa town, Aikō District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was established in 2006 and the current building was completed in 2017.

## Background

In Vietnamese, Chùa means 'temple'. Currently, there are several Vietnamese Buddhist temples in Japan, with Chua Vietnam in Aikawa being one of the largest as of 2024.
Chua Vietnam was established by Vietnamese monk Thích Minh Tuyền (1938–2017). Tuyền was born in Bình Thuận province in southeastern Vietnam, and after graduating from a Buddhist school, he worked as abbot at a temple in Ho Chi Minh City. In 1971, he accompanied a delegation to Japan and decided to stay to study.
During his decades-long stay in Japan, Tuyền frequently assisted many Vietnamese refugee families. Furthermore, he organized numerous Buddhist activities during major Buddhist holidays and traditional Vietnamese festivals at the request of Vietnamese Buddhists in exile.
Tuyền wanted to build a temple for the Vietnamese Buddhist community in Japan. In 2006, he purchased a common house in Aikawa, renovated and decorated it, and turned it into a temple. Later, the land was used for the present site of Chua Viet Nam. The groundbreaking ceremony for the current building took place in 2010 and the building was completed in 2017. To raise funds for the construction, Tuyền traveled to various countries, including the United States, France, Germany, and Australia, to seek cooperation from the Vietnamese community, including investment.
Aikawa was selected as the temple site due to its affordable land and abundant natural resources, such as rivers and mountains. Temple sites in Vietnam are typically preferred to be surrounded by rivers and mountains. Tuyền observed the natural features of Aikawa Town and concluded that it was a suitable environment for ascetic practices. The existence of a significant foreign community in Aikawa was also comforting to him. He was able to communicate with other foreign residents who were in the same situation regarding Japanese customs and etiquette.
Today, Chua Viet Nam has become a common spiritual center for the Vietnamese community in Japan. People gather there to make offerings to their ancestors, pass on Vietnamese culture to their children, and consult with monks about their problems.

## History

The following history is from the temple's official website.
* 1970, Tuyền went to Japan to study and work in Buddhism. Often he borrowed temples in Japan to organize festivals for the Vietnamese Buddhist community in Japan.
* 1997, Tuyền came up with the idea of purchasing land to build a temple.
* 2006, he purchased and decorated a common house in the town of Aikawa. This is the prototype of the current Chua Vietnam.
* 2010, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Vietnamese temple in Japan was held in the presence of monks from various countries.
* 2012, the first completion ceremony was held to call for continued funding.
* 2017, construction of the temple was completed.
* 2018, Tuyền died. Nhuận Ân and Giới Bảo continued to manage and operate Chua Viet Nam.

## Religion in Vietnam

Vietnam is a multi-religious country, and it is said that there is no preeminent 'state religion'. A sociologist of religion, Hide Miki, states that "80% of the Vietnamese people do not have a specific religion, and ancestor worship and shamanism are a part of their daily lives. However, they do not actually have a sense of belonging to a specific religion."
Buddhism in Vietnam is believed to have first come to Vietnam from the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd or 2nd century B.C., or from China in the 1st or 2nd century. Buddhism in present-day Vietnam has a mixed relationship with certain elements of Taoism, Chinese folk beliefs, and Vietnamese folk beliefs.
Under the current socialist regime of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, religion is under strict control and management. The percentage of adherents of each religion in Vietnam varies greatly depending on the source. According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2002, 80% of the population is Buddhist. U.S. government statistics released in 2016 state that "more than half of the population is considered Buddhist."

## Vietnamese temples in Japan and the role of the Chua Vietnam

Japan has a community of Vietnamese Buddhists and Christians that includes several Vietnamese Buddhist temples and Christian churches.
According to an interview with Chua Vietnam conducted by Waseda University's Shiro Segawa seminar, which specializes in journalism, Chua Vietnam has three main roles:

### As a Buddhist temple in its original

    The role of Chua Viet Nam includes the same role of Buddhist temples in Vietnam. As in Vietnam, it is often visited by couples and Vietnamese who come to pray.

### As a Vietnamese Temple in Japan

    There are also worshippers unique to Vietnamese temples in Japan. Vietnamese living in Japan visit to think about their homeland and their families, Vietnamese couples who are internationally married to Japanese, and Japanese who come for tourism, research, or other cultural exchange.

### As a hub among worshippers

    Chua Vietnam also serves as a hub for information exchange among Vietnamese living in Japan. Chua Vietnam hosts festivals, meditation sessions, and other events that attract many Vietnamese worshippers, who exchange information about job opportunities and other topics at the temple.

## Architecture

Unlike Japanese temples, Chua Vietnam's building are decorated with dragons on the roofs and staircases, and the walls are painted yellow. According to Giới Bảo, Chua Vietnamese buildings are places where Vietnamese living in Japan can remember their homeland.

### Tam Quan

    At the entrance to Chua Vietnam is a gate called Tam quan (vi:tam quan/三關). The Tam quan is a traditional gate style symbolizing Vietnamese Buddhism, with three passages. (Traditionally, the middle passage is the largest and the two side passages are smaller.) In Vietnam, it is often used not only in Buddhist architecture, but also in other religious architecture, such as Confucianism, Taoism, Vietnamese folk religion, and Christianity. It is also used in non-religious modern buildings such as schools and People's Committee buildings.

## Worship and visiting

Chua Vietnam is open on Sundays and on days of various events. Every weekend, Vietnamese residents in Japan gather from Sagamihara, Atsugi, Ebina, Isehara, Hadano, and other nearby cities and towns, as well as from Tokyo, Saitama, and as far away as Nagoya. Sometimes 1,000 people gather at New Year's, when the streets are overflowing with people.
Non-Buddhists are also free to visit the temple, where they can learn about its customs and manners.

## Relationship with the local community

According to an interview with Abbot Nhuận Ân by a Vietnamese newspaper, he is actively trying to build a relationship with the local community in order to reduce the concerns of the surrounding residents due to noise and parking spaces as the number of worshippers increases. The monks are learning about Japanese culture and the Japanese language, and they hope that gradually Japanese people living in the surrounding area will visit and understand more about Vietnamese people living in Japan, bringing them closer to each other.
According to an interview with Vice-abbot Giới Bảo in 2023, he is thinking of holding meditation classes in Japanese.

## Annual events

The following list of annual events is based on the official website.
* Western New Year (January)
* Lunar New Year/ Tết(February)
* First Full Moon Festival/Tết Nguyên Tiêu (February)
* Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva Ceremony (March)
* Buddha's Birthday (May)
* Summer Retreat (August)
* Ghost Festival/Vu Lan (August)
* The Ceremony of the Venerable founder (August)
* Mid-Autumn Festival (September)
* Fall Retreat (November)
* Amitabha Buddha Ceremony (December)

## Geography

Aikawa Town, where Chua Vietnam is located, is a small inland municipality in Kanagawa Prefecture, but has the highest percentage of foreign residents among its population in Kanagawa Prefecture. In addition to Chua Viet Nam, other foreign religious facilities such as a Thai Buddhist temple, a Cambodian Buddhist temple, and a Laotian Buddhist temple are located in Aikawa.

## Sources

* ↑ "Betonamujin yukari no jiin (higashi-nihon)" ベトナム人ゆかりの寺院(東日本) [Temples associated with Vietnamese people (Eastern Japan)]. kokoro-vj.org. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
* ↑ Kiyofuji, Ryushun. "Bukkyōto Betonamujin ginō jisshū nama no kokoro no yori dokoro: Chiiki nihongo kyōshitsu de no PAC bunseki no chōsa o moto ni" 仏教徒ベトナム人技能実習生の心の拠り所 : 地域日本語教室でのPAC分析の調査をもとに [Peace of Mind for Buddhist Vietnamese Technical Intern Trainees: Based on PAC (Personal Attitude Construct) Analysis in the Local Japanese Language School]. Kyushu University. Retrieved 2023-11-05.
* 1 2 3 "Betonamu tera (Aikawa-machi)" ベトナム寺（愛川町） [Vietnam Temple (Aikawa Town)]. FM Yokohama. 17 July 2022. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Tiểu Sử Sư Tổ" [Master's Biography]. Chuavietnam. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
* ↑ "Hình Ảnh Chùa Xưa" [Pictures of Ancient Temples]. chuavietnam. Retrieved 2023-11-12.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Oka, Kei (20 March 2023). "Nihon ni okeru Betonamu jiin motomerareru yakuwari to wa" 日本におけるベトナム寺院 求められる役割とは [Vietnamese Temples in Japan: What Role is Needed?]. Wasegg（ワセッグ）/Waseda University Faculty of Political Science and Economics Shiro Segawa Seminar. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
* 1 2 3 "Korona-ka demo migikata agari no gaikokuseki chōmin. Yaku 50-ka-koku kara hito ga atsumaru Kanagawa-ken ōbu no 'ikoku' Aikawa-machi" コロナ禍でも右肩上がりの外国籍町民。約50カ国から人が集まる神奈川県央部の「異国」愛川町/ [Foreign residents of the town are on the right track even with the Corona disaster. Aikawa Town, a "foreign country" in central Kanagawa Prefecture where people from about 50 countries gather]. Yahoo! news. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
* 1 2 "Kokusai-shoku yutaka na Kanagawa-ken Aikawa-chō no miryoku wa? Gurume ni ikokubunka taiken: Chikyū no Arukikata korabo shirīzu (2)" 国際色豊かな神奈川県愛川町の魅力は？グルメに異国文化体験 地球の歩き方コラボシリーズ（2） [What is the charm of the cosmopolitan town of Aikawa in Kanagawa Prefecture? Gourmet food and exotic culture experience: Chikyū no Arukikata Collaboration Series (2)]. NHK. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
* ↑ "Neko no hitai hodo waido #1192 ripōto taishō / Makita Shū 'Bonnō kara no dakkyaku! Makita no meisō tsuā' (Aikawa-machi)" 猫のひたいほどワイド #1192 リポート大賞・牧田習「煩悩からの脱却！牧田の瞑想ツアー」（愛川町） [Neko no hitai hodo variety #1192 Report Grand Prize, Makita Shū "Breaking free from vexations! Makita's Meditation Tour" (Aikawa Town)]. Television Kanagawa. Retrieved 2023-11-09 – via Youtube.
* 1 2 "Chùa Việt Nam Tại Nhật Bản" [chua vietnam in japan]. Chùa Việt Nam. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
* ↑ Imai, Akio; Imai, Misaki (2012-10-30). gendai betonamu wo siru tame no 60 syou 【 dai 2 han 】 ( eria sutadhi-zu 39 ) 現代ベトナムを知るための60章【第2版】(エリアスタディーズ39) [Sixty Chapters for Understanding Modern Vietnam [2nd Edition] (Area Studies 39)]. akashi shoten.
* ↑ 異教のニューカマーたち: 日本における移民と宗教/Pagan Newcomers: Immigration and Religion in Japan. 森話社. 2017-01-05. p. 142.
* ↑ Cuong, Tu Nguyen. (1997). Zen in Medieval Vietnam: A Study of the Thiền Uyển Tập Anh. University of Hawaii Press. p. 9.
* ↑ Cuong, Tu Nguyen; A.W., Barber (1998). The Faces of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. p. 132.
* 1 2 "ベトナム 2016年 国際宗教自由報告書/Vietnam 2016 International Religious Freedom Report" (PDF). Ministry of Justice (Japan). Retrieved 2023-11-05.
* ↑ "最近のベトナム経済情勢と日・ベトナム経済関係/Recent Economic Situation in Vietnam and Japan-Vietnam Economic Relations". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan). Retrieved 2023-11-11.
* ↑ Horie, Naomi. "imin no koritu to syuukyouteki nettowa-ku ― nagasaki no zirei wo tyuusin ni ―" 移民の孤立と宗教的ネットワーク ―長崎の事例を中心に― [Immigrant Isolation and Religious Networks-A Case Study of Nagasaki, Japan] (PDF). 公益財団国際宗教研究所/International Institute for the Study of Religions. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
* ↑ Nogami, Emi (2010). "zainiti betonamu zin syuukyou sisetu ga mo tu syakaiteki imi ni kan suru itikousatu : katorikku kyoukai to bukkyou ziin ni okeru katudou no hikaku" 在日ベトナム人宗教施設が持つ社会的意味に関する一考察 : カトリック教会と仏教寺院における活動の比較 [A study on the social meaning of religious institutions for Vietnamese: Living in Japan: A comparison between the activities in a Catholic church and a Buddhism temple]. 鶴山論叢. 10. doi:10.24546/81002081. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
* ↑ Horie, Naomi (23 March 2020). "zainiti betonamu kei imin ni kan suru yobiteki kousatu" 在日ベトナム系移民に関する予備的考察 [Preliminary observation on Vietnamese immigrants in japan]. Journal of Global Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagasaki University. 6. cinii: 103–120. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
* ↑ "TAM QUAN TRONG KIẾN TRÚC CHÙA VIỆT NAM/Sightseeing in Vietnamese Pagoda ARCHITECTURE".
* ↑ "3 ĐIỀU CẦN BIẾT VỀ CỔNG TAM QUAN ĐÁ/3 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT STONE Sightseeing GATE".
* 1 2 "Nơi nương tựa tâm linh cho người Việt tại Nhật" [The heartland of Vietnamese in Japan]. Enlightenment Online. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2023-11-02.
* ↑ "Tăng Thân" [Sangha]. chuavietnam. Retrieved 2023-11-05.